Menendez Brothers ‘Monster’ Star Javier Bardem Talks True Crime Series

“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” asks viewers to be judges for the Menéndez brothers. The infamous Beverly Hills siblings murdered their parents in 1989 and were convicted in 1996, but today’s broader understanding of sexual abuse has led to renewed interest in the case.

“[The show’s] about the consequences of trauma,” says Javier Bardem, who plays the father José Variety at the series premiere in Los Angeles on Monday. “Unless [it is] If it is properly addressed and cured, it will have a huge, terrible, dramatic effect on generations to come.”

The series’ cast and creatives described the “Rashaman” approach to the story.

“We really wanted to present a lot of different points of view and then let the audience decide what they wanted to take,” said writer and producer David McMillan. “We’re talking about real people… many of them are still alive. We want to make sure our story is based on the facts.”

“You can’t make a moral or emotional judgment about anyone,” said Carl Franklin, who directed the first two episodes. “You basically have to take the material and put yourself in it and present the strongest arguments for each of the actors and for all the points of view.”

The creators went to great lengths to recreate the time period, which Los Angeles native Leslie Grossman, who plays key witness Judalon Smyth, claimed was perfect.

“My sister-in-law was in Erik’s class. I could name ten people off the top of my head who knew these brothers. It was wild to rewatch it this way and remember very vividly what it was like to be in LA at the time,” Grossman shared Variety.

Composer Thomas Newman worked with his daughter Julia to set the tone for LA in the late 1980s and early 1990s

“These places you drive through every day are part of this broader story of murder and family,” Julia explained. “This story is really part of the fabric of Los Angeles.”

Jess Weixler, who plays Lyle’s attorney Jill Lansing, said the brothers are being viewed through a more sensitive lens than during the trials 30 years ago.

“There is something very different about this case now than it was then, in the way people approach the case [particularly] abuse like that for men…I don’t know if it would have changed the outcome [of the trial]but I do think it would have been so [treated] more meaningful and less like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch,” she explained.

READ MORE: Erik Menendez Destroys Netflix Series ‘Monsters’: ‘Ryan Murphy Can’t Be So Naive and Inaccurate’

Producer Ryan Murphy, who has a history of taking acting mantles with Emmys, cast Cooper Koch and Daytime Emmy winner Nicholas Alexander Chavez as the titular brothers – Erik and Lyle, respectively. Although neither spoke to the long-incarcerated Menendez siblings, they all consumed interviews, documentaries, books, articles and the entire trial on television.

“You create a kind of trauma for yourself, which is difficult to bear, but ultimately very rewarding and satisfying to understand and empathize with someone who has experienced something so difficult and tragic,” Koch said.

Koch asked viewers to look forward to the fifth episode, titled “The Hurt Man,” which he is particularly proud of.

“The hurt man is what Erik called himself growing up,” he added.

“This show creates such conflicting emotions,” Chavez said. “I think that’s what has made this case so compelling for so long. I’m really interested to see what the public consensus is – or even if there is a consensus.”

Nathan Lane spoke to Griffin Dunne about playing his late father, the late legendary journalist Dominick Dunne. “I said, ‘Well, how would you like to see your father portrayed?’ And he said, “I would like people to know what a passionate advocate he was for victims, and how that trial changed his life, both professionally and personally,” Nathan Lane said. “So when I started getting these episodes, I thought, ‘I think he’s going to be really happy.’ Because that was a common thread throughout the character and especially in episode seven, which explains a lot about Dominick.

With “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” premiering earlier this week and “Grotesquerie” next week, Murphy has a lot in the pipeline. Murphy recently announced that Charlie Hunnam will play infamous serial killer Ed Gein in Season 3 of “Monster.” “There are too many monsters in the world,” McMillan said. “It’s not just about choosing a monster, but also about finding a way to make that story fresh for another generation.”

Check out more photos from the ‘Monsters’ premiere below.